Haunted?

Shilpy Arora

India

May 18, 2012

Believe it or not.

Gurgaon has its share of ‘haunted’ stories. Picture this. A lady lying in bed listens to the soft footfalls overhead. It is 3 o’clock in the morning. She is scared because she knows there is nobody upstairs.

It is the story of Barkha, 38, who experiences paranormal activities almost regularly in her house in Palam Vihar. In 2005, Barkha’s husband got a job in Udyog Vihar, and they started looking for a house in Gurgaon. They had seen many apartments and villas. But nothing appealed to them, as they wanted a spacious house. Finally, they settled for a big independent house, in a quiet residential part of Palam Vihar. “This house is one of the most spacious in the area, and the price quoted by the dealer was affordable. So we bought the house.

About a hundred metres behind the home, was a vast empty lot. We later realised it was an ancient graveyard. The first couple of months were peaceful. Then some paranormal activities started taking place, just enough to catch our attention. The pictures came crashing down from the walls, and vibrations were felt in the rooms.” Barkha says that these paranormal activities never caused any damage. “The spirit just wanted to let us know of its existence. The activities never stopped, but the moment we acknowledged the presence of the spirit, our fear gradually vanished.”

However, a professional paranormal expert, who requested anonymity, says, “We test the area with special gadgets, such as KII meters, full spectrum camera, and infrared thermometers, used in the detection of spirits. There seems to be no evidence of such activities here.” Also, a couple who lives in the graveyard, claims that there is no spirit in the area. According to them, the graveyard has become a safe haven for drunken men, who spread such rumours to encroach the place.

For years, the buildings of some large BPO companies were believed to be haunted. Many employees claim to have witnessed something or the other. Karan (name changed), an ex-employee says, “There is a locked room in the building, where many people have seen shadows, and heard people screaming. It is also believed that these are the spirits of people who were rejected in the interviews, and later committed suicide.” Another employee, Sarthak, has a different story to tell. According to him, there is just one lady who stays in the room, and stands in front of the building at night – to ask for a lift. “One such incident caused a heart attack to a cab driver,” says Sarthak. The professional paranormal activities investigator, again, refutes this. He has recorded no paranormal activities in the area. He says, “You can’t lock a spirit in a room. All these stories are nothing but rumours.”

It took 12 years to construct a tower in Malibu Towne. The ghost reportedly has lived in the tower from the beginning. Apparently, during the first year of construction, two labourers jumped off the building – and a few people saw some ghostly faces on the walls. It was enough to scare both the construction workers, and authorities. So the tower was shut down for three years. But now, a few families live in the tower. “Not just the tower, but the whole of Malibu Towne is believed to be haunted,” says a lady, who has been living in the area for seven years.

“This ghost seems to be extremely friendly, as people claim its existence but are not scared of it at all,” laughs the paranormal activity expert. “My team investigated a similar case in Noida, where people used to see ghostly faces. We found out it was nothing more than the human brain’s tendency to develop a familiar image out of complex shapes. I am glad that my study helped debunk such myths.”

An upcoming mall. No, we didn’t find any ghost shopping in here. It is the mall security department that has seen a ghost pulling up the shutters of shops, and going for a walk to the colony, in the middle of the night. As a guard puts it, “I don’t come close to this mall at night, because the ghosts who live in the mall throw stones at people, and scream to grab attention.” Recently, these ghosts have been held responsible for killing a man in a tower right behind the mall. The man, who supposedly went to the washroom around midnight, was found dead with an injury on his head. However, the Vice-President of the colony completely disagrees, and says, “I have never heard of any ghostly existence in the mall. I can assure you this mall is going to be a hit in the area. The mall is under construction, and will be operational in the next four to five months.” Security Supervisor Ramchandra also introduces us to a guard, Manoj, who stays in the mall overnight. “I spend the whole night in the mall, and have never seen any ghost here. There are no lights in the mall, that is why people are scared to visit it at night,” says Manoj.

Stories about spirits and ghosts are nothing new in our country – every street and building resounds with such myths. There are only a few places in and around Gurgaon where the paranormal investigators have received positive indications. “The City has a well-educated population, that is open to counselling. Based on our investigations, we give them counselling; or if required, help communicate with the spirits. However, to carry out such investigations, we need to get permission from the authorities, police, and sometimes the ASI; that takes a very long time. May be, paperwork matters in the other world too,” smiles one of the investigators.